Kickstarter gameframe – bottom portion of screen not working

[wesleyminner]

Hello,

I have an old Kickstarter gameframe that has developed a screen issue, where the lower half of the screen doesn’t turn on or animate. I have tried reformatting the SD card, and swapping it out for another SD card. I have also tried using my father’s SD card (he also has a gameframe that I gifted him), and my gameframe still exhibits the same screen issue (while his does not when using my SD card).

I have also looked over the circuit board and found no cold solder joints or failing capacitors, etc… One other symptom is that when I jiggle the cable leading to the LED strip, sometimes I will see the bottom-half pixels glitch out or come alive momentarily. Is there anything else I can try before I resort to prying apart the glued wood joints to examine the LED strip?

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[Jeremy Williams]

I’m sorry to say this is certainly an LED issue. One of them died, and won’t send the data down the line. If you have a handful of Neopixels and a reflow station it is possible to fix.

[wesleyminner]

I see, thanks for responding. What kind of glue binds the wood frame together? Mainly I’m wondering what’s the best way to take it apart without damaging it (like by applying heat or water).

[Jeremy Williams]

It’s Titebond original wood glue. I’ve had good luck softening it with a hot air gun (used for heat shrink tube), moving it constantly for a minute or two. They should separate with minimal force. You only need to remove the top panel, so soften the top two joints.

[wesleyminner]

Perfect, thanks! I’ll try that.

[Author]

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